


gold light breaks behind the houses

by crownedcarl



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Pining, Pre-OT3, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24055633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crownedcarl/pseuds/crownedcarl
Summary: "Come upstairs," Audrey calls, shifting on her feet, "I made too much cocoa. Come upstairs, Duke."Duke pauses. He wonders if that's the truth - if Audrey really made too much cocoa, or if she made exactly the right amount. His heart pounds inside his chest. He's suddenly light-headed, hanging on to hope by a very narrow thread.
Relationships: Audrey Parker/Nathan Wuornos, Duke Crocker/Audrey Parker/Nathan Wuornos
Comments: 30
Kudos: 78





	gold light breaks behind the houses

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Don't Swallow the Cap by The National, aka the ultimate Duke Crocker jam. I wrote something short and soft because I'm a goblin who's all but given up on pre-existing projects, so I am tossing this into the world. Here's today's rendition of me begging for any kind of feedback from anyone at all in the comments: please leave a comment. Otherwise, enjoy.
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://dickardgansey.tumblr.com/) for those interested. Here are my [other Haven fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crownedcarl/pseuds/crownedcarl/works?fandom_id=9218791).

The last call comes and goes.

Duke holds open the door as the last of the stragglers stumble across the threshold, giggling and linking arms as they put their clothes to rights and prepare to leave. The two women briefly halt in their tracks to talk quietly between themselves for a moment before taking the final plunge off the bottom step. Duke can hear them laughing and shrieking as they begin clumsily jogging across the parking lot, trying to outrun the snow that’s coming down gentle on the wind.

Duke glances at the bare legs in high heels rushing to cross the distance between the Gull and the waiting Jeep on the other side of the parking lot, a wry smile curving his mouth when they pile inside the car, laughing breathlessly before the door shuts the sound inside.

He takes stock of what needs doing, where to begin, his shoulders rippling restlessly on a shrug.

Upstairs, the lights are on.

Duke wipes down the writing board methodically, slowly erasing tonight’s specials, starting with the two-for-one deal on crab cakes and moving on to the soup of the day, scrubbing away the _m_ in minestrone as the curtains move in Audrey's window. A dull crash follows the motion and loud laughter reaching his ears through the shockingly thin walls - it's either that, or Audrey really does laugh that loud and hard at Nathan's jokes.

"Crazy kids in love," Duke mutters to himself, half-smiling as he sneaks another glance upstairs before shaking his head and refocusing. At this angle, with his back turned to the parking lot, the snow is tickling at his ears, settling in a fine dust on his shoulders and the crown of his head. The wind isn't whipping around him, yet, but it will. Unless Duke manages the clean-up quickly enough, he'll have to brave the impending storm.

He wonders what Audrey and Nathan are doing, up there where the windows are beaming with orange light. Duke wonders if they're drinking wine or sipping hot cocoa, if maybe Audrey's legs are slung across Nathan's lap, whether Nathan's hands are up Audrey's shirt or not. Infinite possibilities, Duke think, none of them including him.

Duke wonders a lot, about those two. As he sets to the task of stacking chairs, he can imagine it happening: Nathan cupping the back of Audrey's head, long fingers running through her hair, and Audrey either encouraging it or tilting her head away with a demure smile, telling him to get serious.

Sometimes, Duke's thoughts wander and the mental image goes too far - right now, he's meant to be sweeping the entrance, but through the gaps in the curtains overhead, Duke swears that he can see a flash of blonde hair piled in a high bun atop a beautiful head and the broom slips in Duke's suddenly shaky hand.

Duke sighs.

A door opens. More laughter spills out and Audrey Parker steps outside in fuzzy slippers and a thick-knit sweater, waving a hand to get Duke's attention. "Evening," Duke grins, putting on a brave face, "Was I being too loud for you lovebirds?"

Audrey's cheeks are pink. Her hair - the loose strands that didn't make it into the bun - are whipping around her face, but she laughs again and Duke's heart sings. He remembers what it felt like, kissing that smiling, pink mouth.

"Come upstairs," Audrey calls, shifting on her feet, "I made too much cocoa. Come upstairs, Duke."

Duke pauses. He wonders if that's the truth - if Audrey really made too much cocoa, or if she made exactly the right amount. His heart pounds inside his chest. He's suddenly light-headed, hanging on to hope by a very narrow thread.

"...yeah?" Duke asks, squinting up at Audrey, spying a long shadow lurking behind her. "Mutual invite, is it?"

Nathan's hand lands on Audrey's shoulder. He's wearing nothing but a t-shirt with his jeans. Audrey smacks his arm, huffing for him to get back inside, but before Nathan goes, he nods down at Duke and says "Don't make us waste the cocoa, Duke," and then he's gone, leaving Duke to shoulder a sudden revelation.

Nathan wants him there, too. This isn't a dream, no matter how dreamlike it feels in the moment, staring up at a bright-eyed Audrey silhouetted by the snow, suspended in time, wearing an expression that looks as hopeful as Duke feels. Maybe it isn't an impossibility, after all.

Years ago, Duke got it right. He had the entire world in the palm of his hand. Nathan always used to laugh when he said that, cupping Nathan's cheek, but Duke had it all.

Maybe he gets a do-over. Maybe version 2 of Duke and Nathan means Duke and Nathan and Audrey.

Audrey's smile wavers, like she's walking a tightrope she can't quite balance properly on. "Duke," she urges again, her voice sounding gentle, softened around the edges, "We're waiting on you."

Duke takes a deep breath. When he looks up, a moment later, Audrey is gone. He heard her pad away, but Duke didn't hear the lock of the door. Abandoning his things and hurriedly locking up the Gull, Duke takes the stairs two at a time, trying the doorknob with trepidation.

It turns, opening. Duke calls out "What's a man got to do for some hot cocoa around here?" and when he steps inside, snow melting in his eyelashes, Audrey and Nathan make room.

The two of them make room. Duke holds his breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never comes. Audrey hands him a mug that's still steaming and Duke sits down, convinced there's a catch until Audrey leans against him and sighs "I like having you both in one place," before adding a playful "Makes it easier to herd you."

The way Duke laughs fills the room and he'd be self-conscious if Nathan didn't do the same thing, except more quietly, sitting on Duke's other side, their shoulders pressed together.

"By the way," Audrey adds, sending a cautious look Duke's way, "I didn't - I mean, I made the cocoa for _you."_

"Did you, now?"

Duke's cadence is breathless. "Yeah," Audrey murmurs, "I wanted you here."

"We both did," Nathan offers, stilted but genuine - so intensely _Nathan_ -like that Duke chokes on a laugh that bubbles up his throat without his permission, and Duke almost laughs himself sick, trying his utmost to catch his breath. He grins, eyebrows going high.

"You two have such a crush on me, it's not even funny."

Nathan and Audrey go red in quick succession and all Duke can do is laugh brightly, caught in the middle.


End file.
